Photos by Jay Calderon and Richard Lui | Published June 28, 2017

More than 10 years ago, when research into the possibility for a pathway to connect the Coachella Valley's eastern and western edges began, the CV Link may have appeared little more than a pipe dream to most.

The paved pathway was supposed to stretch from the Palm Springs Visitors Center to the remote unincorporated town of Thermal, beginning in desertscape, running alongside roads and flowing into vegetated lands on top of the Whitewater River Wash. It finishes, similar to how it started, surrounded by views of far-off mountains and not much else.

Once the initial path is finished in 2020, it will gain traffic from walkers, runners and even drivers of neighborhood electric vehicles — many whom are just looking to navigate from points A to B. But for serious cyclists such as Tom Kohn, who moved to the Coachella Valley permanently in 2016 after being a frequent visitor for 30 years, the CV Link provides something different.

In it, Kohn sees a premier option for hours of nearly uninterrupted pavement that could eventually lead to something far greater than initial dreamers may have envisioned.

The CV Link will eventually run along an Indio neighborhood between Jackson and Monroe Streets.(Photo: Jay Calderon and Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)

The Friends of CV Link board member and former Dayton, Ohio, resident was involved in multiple volunteer organizations over the years that helped plan, craft and eventually build more than 350 miles of interconnected bikeways joining 36 cities surrounding Dayton.

To him, the approximately 50 miles of future bike paths in Coachella Valley is just a small part of the big picture.

“I look at CV Link as a start of the ability to connect to the high desert to Hemet and Redlands and Riverside and eventually the Santa Ana Trail,” he said.

But for now, Kohn and the rest of the avid cycling community across Coachella Valley look forward to one of the longest, most convenient out-and-back bike routes in the valley — one he and others hope will open up more residents and tourists to the sport.

A safe, convenient path

The path of the CV Link will run along the wash here near the intersection of Washington Street and Highway 111.

(Photo: Jay Calderon and Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)

Without CV Link, only a handful of roads in the valley provide near or just over 10 miles of east-west riding to begin with, and all of them come with drawbacks — some serious.

Dillon Road and Varner Road to the north take advantage of the vast open spaces in the high desert, and a one-way trip from Desert Hot Springs to Coachella marks about 35 miles. But Dillon Road's remoteness brings a drawback should riders face a flat tire, sudden wind and sand storms, or a need of water in an area with spotty cell service.

In Cathedral City, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, roads like Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Country Club, Ramon and Highway 111 provide designated bike lanes in some areas, but involve riding on some of the most congested roadways filled with traffic lights and the fastest moving cars outside of the I-10 freeway.

As an alternative, CV Link's pathway winds through Palm Springs while providing relatively easy access to schools and community centers in the central and east valley cities, and delivers a middle ground that cyclists of all abilities can take advantage of.

Gary Lueders, the president of Friends of CV Link, has been an active cyclist for 45 years and at least a seasonal Coachella Valley resident since the mid-90’s. Back then, he said, bike lanes were unheard of, but a smaller number of cars on the road made cycling across the valley much more pleasant.

The CV Link will follow the wash in the area between Washington and Jefferson streets.(Photo: Jay Calderon and Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)

Currently, he believes defined markings on the road to preserve space for cyclists often aren’t enough.

“With distracted driving, not having a hard protection isn’t enough,” he said. “There’s more intense driving, people are more in a hurry getting from one place to another, and it makes bike lanes not as safe.

“It’s better than just riding on the road, but hopefully CV Link can be the next step.”

Using drones, bicycles and walking some of the route, our journalists show you how the Coachella Valley's bike path is shaping up.
Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Lueders said he notices, while riding around the valley, signs of apprehensive cyclists everywhere. In his own neighborhood, he sees bicycles in garages that rarely leave the neighborhood roads and cul-de-sacs.

Kohn said he recognizes a similar apprehension in Palm Springs: cyclists either riding against traffic in a bike lane — the wrong way to use it — or riding on narrow sidewalks with a bike path next to them.

With CV Link, they’ll have the pavement largely to themselves.

Safely navigating the breaks

The Desert Sun reporter Nathan Brown rides on Parkview Drive in Palm Desert, where the CV Link will eventually run.

(Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

The pathway begins at the Palm Springs Visitors Center at Tramway Road and Highway 111 before it winds behind the northern-most homes in Desert Highland Gateway Estates, providing views of Mt. San Jacinto, the windmills and Mt. San Gorgonio. Following the Whitewater River Wash, the path will cross over Gene Autry Trail north of Vista Chino before following the border between Escena and Cimarron Golf Courses as it enters Cathedral City south of Ramon Road.

Before entering Rancho Mirage, though, the pathway screeches to a halt not long after crossing Date Palm Drive, just north of Highway 111.

From there, Kohn and Lueders say the serious native cyclists of the valley will make due with the gap in Rancho Mirage, as well as Indian Wells.

“Cyclists, we aren’t stupid," Kohn said. "We know how to use maps to find the best linkage from one place to another."

But those just visiting the valley may just look at a map, see what they think appears to be the most direct connecting road to much of the valley’s best restaurants and tourist sites and keep pedaling down Highway 111.

To Lueders, that’s the biggest fear.

“A tourist comes through Palm Springs and is staying at a hotel and wants to see other parts of the valley,” Lueders visualizes. “The only way they know from looking at a map is the 111.

“That is such a no-no.”

An existing bike lane along Columbine Drive in Palm Desert connects with the planned path of the CV Link.(Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

In March of 2007, Kim Raney, a 26-year-old Seattle-area resident, was visiting the tourist town with her husband and parents. A triathlete and experienced cyclist, Raney was riding down Highway 111, fell off her bike, and was run over by a semi.

Since 2002, there have been 37 fatal bike crashes in Coachella Valley, some in similar locations to Raney’s accident, involving both tourists and local residents alike.

“Although there are people who still do ride (Highway 111)," Kohn said, "they’re on the very edge almost in the gutter, looking over their shoulder."

The Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), which is overseeing the project, says it plans to provide informational kiosks at the pathway’s termini to educate users on the safest routes through Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells to help mitigate those accident numbers.

Exploring the east valley

The path of the CV Link could end here at Airport Boulevard in Thermal during a later phase of the project.

(Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

After the relatively short portion of pathway on roads in Palm Desert on Parkview Drive, Monterey Avenue and Magnesia Falls Drive, the proposed pathway hops back onto the wash, providing convenient access to Palm Desert and La Quinta High School students. (Indio High School is more than a mile from the path and the Coachella Valley High School is about 3.5 miles.)

Past La Quinta, though, the path quickly regains its remoteness — even more so than the western edge.

In Indio, the pathway meets and runs alongside Highway 86 until it crosses Airport Boulevard in Thermal, where users of the trail will run within 100 yards of the desert's largest homeless camps. Not exactly a tourist’s ideal of the desert.

But Lueders, Kohn, members of the Desert Bicycle Club and other avid bike riders in the Coachella Valley won’t mind having this paved pathway much to themselves. CV Link will intersect with Dillon Road, the popular road biking thoroughfare, and the eastern terminus sits not far from Box Canyon Road in Mecca, which climbs gradually underneath I-10 all the way into Joshua Tree National Park.

In 2035, CVAG estimates that the pathway will facilitate more than 3 million cycling and pedestrian trips per year, expanding far beyond the convenience and safety for serious cyclists to casual walkers, commuting students and those with low-speed electric vehicles.

Until then, Kohn and Lueders see a huge benefit for those athletic enthusiasts with no specific destination in mind.

“It’s going to be really good for the casual rider to ride for fitness, though not at race pace,” Kohn said. “It’ll give them an opportunity to ride a path without cars.

“The stress level goes down significantly when you’re on a path like that.”